Mayor of London says Trump ‘absolutely’ welcome to visit UK after previous rally to ban president
Sadiq Khan says that Donald Trump is welcome to visit the UK. (Getty
Mayor of London Sir Sadiq Khan has said that President Donald Trump is “absolutely” welcome to visit the UK after previously rallying for the government to ban him from visiting.
In 2019, Sir Khan urged the UK government to ban the then-president ahead of his state visit. He also previously criticised Trump for his “ignorant” Muslim ban, and homophobic comments and said his approach was comparable to “the fascists of the 20th century”.
However, the 2025 New Year Honours knight told Sky News in a Tuesday (18 February) interview that he “wants President Trump to come to London so that he can see that some of the misunderstandings he has of our city aren’t the case”.
“He can see there is no threat to freedom of speech in this great city of ours, so he can see that Muslims, Jews, Christians, Hindus, [and] Sikhs don’t just tolerate each other, we respect, celebrate and embrace each other,” Khan explained.
“He can see for himself that many people in this great city of ours, this country of ours, love America, love American culture, and indeed in the past have loved American politics and are looking forward to working closely with him going forward.”
He added that he would prefer people to “judge President Trump on what he does to his second term rather than what he did in his first term”. Khan said: “My job as the mayor of this great city is to stand up for our values, stand up for our businesses, stand up for our people. And that does mean sometimes saying boo to a goose.”
In one of Trump’s previous state visits to the UK in 2018, Khan allegedly permitted a “six-metre-high, orange, inflatable baby with a malevolent face and tiny hands,” to greet the president and fly over London when Trump met with the then-Prime Minister Theresa May at 10 Downing Street. The balloon was flown over Parliament Square during London protests against his visit.
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